NASA's Artemis II Crew Prepares for Historic Moon Mission

Four astronauts, including the first woman and Canadian, will fly around the moon in a 10-day journey.

Mar. 31, 2026 at 1:35pm

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An abstract painting in soft blues, greens, and grays featuring sweeping geometric arcs, concentric circles, and precise spirals, representing the complex forces and concepts of space travel and lunar exploration.The diverse Artemis II crew will embark on a historic journey around the moon, paving the way for future lunar exploration missions.Cape Canaveral Today

NASA's Artemis II mission is set to launch on Wednesday, sending four astronauts - Reid Wiseman, Christina Koch, Victor Glover, and Jeremy Hansen - on a 10-day journey around the moon. This will be the first crewed flight of NASA's new Space Launch System rocket and Orion capsule, and the astronauts will travel farther from Earth than any human has gone before, surpassing the Apollo 13 distance record. Though they won't land on the lunar surface, the mission is a critical step toward a targeted moon landing in 2028.

Why it matters

The Artemis II mission marks the beginning of a new era of lunar exploration, paving the way for future Artemis missions that will land astronauts on the moon for the first time since the Apollo program. The diverse crew, which includes the first woman, first person of color, and first Canadian to go to the moon, represents the best of humanity and will inspire the next generation of space explorers.

The details

The four-person crew consists of NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Christina Koch, and Victor Glover, as well as Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen. Wiseman will command the mission, with Glover as pilot and Koch and Hansen as mission specialists. All three NASA astronauts are spaceflight veterans, while Hansen is making his debut. During the 10-day journey, the crew will demonstrate docking procedures, conduct science experiments, and test systems aboard the Orion capsule as a trial run for future Artemis missions.

  • The Artemis II mission is scheduled to launch on Wednesday, March 29, 2026.
  • The crew entered quarantine in Houston on March 18, 2026, a standard preflight procedure.
  • The crew arrived at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Friday, March 22, 2026.

The players

Reid Wiseman

A NASA astronaut and former Navy officer who will command the Artemis II mission. He previously spent six months aboard the International Space Station in 2014 and is now a single father of two daughters.

Christina Koch

A NASA astronaut who holds the record for the longest single spaceflight by a woman, spending nearly a year on the International Space Station in 2019. She will serve as a mission specialist on Artemis II.

Victor Glover

A NASA astronaut and former U.S. Navy captain who was on the first operational flight of SpaceX's Crew Dragon capsule to the space station in 2020. He will serve as the pilot on Artemis II.

Jeremy Hansen

A Canadian astronaut and former fighter pilot who will make his spaceflight debut on Artemis II, becoming the first Canadian to venture to the moon.

Vanessa Wyche

The director of NASA's Johnson Space Center, who announced the Artemis II crew selection in 2023.

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What they’re saying

“The four of us, we are ready to go. The team is ready to go. The vehicle is ready to go.”

— Reid Wiseman, Artemis II Mission Commander

“Among the crew are the first woman, first person of color, and first Canadian on a lunar mission. And all four astronauts will represent the best of humanity as they explore for the benefit of all.”

— Vanessa Wyche, Director, NASA's Johnson Space Center

“I will be so excited to see someone I know get assigned to be the person and people to walk on the moon, but if it isn't in my space destiny to do that, that's just fine with me.”

— Christina Koch, Artemis II Mission Specialist

“Our families have been along for this entire journey, the third quarantine of this series, and all the years of training and the travel, and they're here now.”

— Victor Glover, Artemis II Mission Pilot

“Success is Artemis 100, whenever that is. And we really define everything off of that.”

— Christina Koch, Artemis II Mission Specialist

What’s next

The Artemis II mission will be a critical stepping stone toward the Artemis III mission in 2027, which will conduct technology demonstrations in low-Earth orbit, including testing how a moon lander will dock with the Orion capsule. NASA's plan calls for the Artemis IV mission in 2028 to land astronauts on the moon.

The takeaway

The Artemis II mission represents a new era of lunar exploration, with a diverse crew of astronauts paving the way for future Artemis missions that will land humans on the moon for the first time since the Apollo program. This mission will inspire the next generation of space explorers and demonstrate the capabilities of NASA's new Space Launch System and Orion spacecraft.